Covered buttons are a really nice detail. You can buy covered button kits at any fabric store or online at Joann Fabric and Craft or from Etsy sellers [search “covered button kit”]. But how do you center an image on a covered button when the kit doesn’t let you see the fabric on the other side?
This post assumes you already know how to cover a button. But in case you haven’t done it before, here are some handy tutorials I found online: “How to Make a Fabric Covered Button” from Cass Can Sew; “How to Cover Buttons with Fabric/Ribbons” from Ribbon Unlimited. They each include plenty of photos. The only difference is that they each cut squares of fabric whereas I used a circle.
My challenge was that I wanted to center a little flower on the button – and my Dritz covered button kit included a white (opaque) rubber mold piece that wouldn’t let me see whether the flower was centered after I pushed the fabric and front button piece into it.
There are covered button kits with a clear rubber piece but that wasn’t for sale at my local fabric store. But I really wanted to finish my top and I didn’t want to wait and order something online. (The Cutie Stuffs Etsy shop sells covered button kits with the clear mold piece. I ordered a larger covered button kit from Cutie Stuffs last year.)
My fabric and the front and back button pieces
Covered button kit
So I thought about how to solve this problem. I drew two lines perpendicular lines through the center of the button pattern (see above photo, my blue lines are a bit faint). The back of the Dritz kit included a circle on the back of the package that you cut out and use as a pattern for your fabric.
Then I drew two perpendicular lines through the center of the flower I wanted to center on the button.
Next I placed my button pattern on the marked fabric and lined up my markings.
I traced my circle, cut it out and placed my front button piece in the center of my fabric circle, pushed it into the white rubber holder. Then I put the button backing piece on top and pushed those pieces together with the blue plastic tool.
And voila! Covered buttons for my top – the Sassy Librarian Blouse by Christine Haynes (a Craftsy sewing class).
Here’s a detail of the finished top with the buttons attached. Soon I’ll be writing a post about making it.
See the covered button nestled in between the collar pieces?
Clever centering idea!! Thanks for sharing it. It will also work on other sewing details which require centering of a print.
Thanks! I’m glad you found it useful. I don’t know why they just don’t sell these kits with a clear rubber piece.